Pieces of the Past
by Eternity's Angel of Mercy
Summary: Fifteen years have passed since Commander Shepard chose to control the Reapers, and Tali feels as though she has moved on from the memory of her first love. When an old friend presents her with a piece of the past which Tali had nearly forgotten about, how will she react?


Disclaimer: Howdy! I don't own Mass Effect or the characters. This one-shot was done as a request from one of my readers, Dytz. This story is a bit sadder than usual, to I apologize in advance! Hope everyone enjoys!

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**Pieces of the Past**

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_"Shepard, no!" Tali cried out, fighting valiantly to get to his retreating form. "You can't leave me!"_

_Shepard turned and Garrus saw it in his eyes. He knew he wouldn't be coming back. Garrus grappled with his own emotions as he pinned Tali to his chest, trying to contain her flailing. His best friend, the first human Garrus had fully trusted, was walking to his death._

_"Whatever happens," Shepard murmured, coming back to caress a hand over Tali's hood, "I love you. Remember that." To Garrus he added, "Take care of her. Now go!"_

_"Shepard!" Tali screamed, sagging back against Garrus' chest. Garrus took the opportunity to pull her into the shuttle bay and away from the man she loved._

* * *

Ritual was the biggest part of Garrus' life now. No one ever tells you that children change everything, making silly things suddenly important. Things like which side of the breakfast bread to put the cadala syrup, or how to properly mix juice before putting it into a sippy cup.

It was a far cry from the excitement of his younger days. Garrus would often think back to his time with Shepard on the Normandy. Sometimes he even longed to go back to those times, back when his best friend was still alive.

This life wasn't bad, Garrus mused to himself. He had made a home for himself and settled down in the relative calm that followed the controlling of the Reapers. He had a wife, two bouncing children, and a house on the beach. They had even purchased a small domesticated varren for the kids to play with.

On days like today, however, it was hard to focus on the good that came from Shepard's sacrifice. Garrus glanced over at the framed photo on the wall, right next to the family terminal in the living room. John Shepard was pictured standing tall and elegant, his gaze focused on something just past the frame. The picture had been captured during his inauguration into the Spectres and was one of the only candid photos taken of the iconic war hero.

"Dad-dad?" a little voice called from the other room.

Garrus turned to see Gwenn, his youngest, standing in the doorway of her bedroom. She was rubbing a hand over her face, as if trying to physically wipe her sleepiness away. "Gwenn," he hummed, going over to the three year old. He picked her up and her head instantly found his shoulder, eyes fluttering closed. "You're up early."

"It's uncle's birthday," she replied, as if that meant everything.

Garrus nodded, rubbing a hand over his daughter's back. "It is."

"Is mommy awake?" she grumbled softly against his neck, only to let out a sleepy yawn.

"Not yet," Garrus replied, setting Gwenn down in her high chair. He grabbed some of the breakfast bread from the fridge and smothered it in syrup, handing it to the youngster. He also filled a cup with juice, depositing that on her tray, as well. "You remembered uncle's birthday, huh?"

Gwenn nodded, pudgy fingers making a mess of the bread. Garrus sat cross from her and watched her for a few moments, completely enraptured in the ritual she partook in daily. She began sectioning out the bread into bite size pieces, her fingers covered in the bright pink syrup. She then painstakingly lined up all of the pieces, from smallest to largest, on her plate. In between licking syrup from her fingers, she plopped pieces of the bread into her mouth. "Uncle was good. He saved mommy and you."

Garrus nodded, feeling emotion choking his throat. "He was a very good man. He saved the entire galaxy."

Gwenn nodded absently before changing the subject in the way only children could. "Dad-dad, look!" She pointed excitedly to her pieces of bread, which were bloated now from the syrup. She began arranging the pieces of bread, making a single word.

'Fevyd.' The Quarian word for uncle. The child looked at Garrus with her pale eyes, her perfect lips tilting into a wide smile.

Garrus' throat sealed up and it took him three times before he was able to murmur, "Very good, Gwenn. Mom will be… be very proud."

"Would I?" a sweet voice cooed from behind him. Tali leaned over him, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing a gentle kiss to his still scarred right cheek. She looked over at her adopted daughter's plate and Garrus felt her flinch. "Oh, honey… that's wonderful." The sadness that tinged her voice was apparent, but she did her best to sound bright.

Gwenn smiled and went back to eating, the word being demolished. Tali let out a shuddering breath as she pulled away from Garrus, moving toward the terminal in the corner of the living room. She looked at the picture of Shepard, as she did every morning, before lighting a stick of incense she had picked up from an Earth-based kiosk. She said a short prayer, her long hair falling over her face and masking it from view.

It wasn't long before their eldest child, Stern, made his way into the kitchen. He was twelve and just as restless as his late father, Urdnot Wrex, had been in his younger days. Stern came into the room like a hurricane, sweeping the fridge open and grabbing a few cases of leftovers.

"I can make you breakfast," Garrus offered. Having both dextro- and levo-based children had made both he and Tali exceptional chefs for both pallets.

Stern only grunted, sitting down beside his little sister and tucking in to the leftover keval meat from the previous night. He was in another mood, as it seemed was normal for krogan of his age. Tali had already put a call in to the new clan leader, Urdnot Grave, to schedule a time in the summer for Stern's Rite of Passage.

"Maybe then he can stop being such a bully to the other children," Tali had mused on the call to Grave. The Urdnot had laughed for minutes before telling Tali that she was just as funny as Grunt had said.

For all of his social and personal unrest, Stern was always gentle to his baby sibling. He didn't care that she was a different race, or that she liked to play pretend and dig in the sand instead of looking at gun modifications. He loved his little sister and was fiercely protective.

"Hey," Stern said suddenly, "can we go shoot off some of your old guns today, dad?"

Tali turned from the photo, her pale eyes regarding her son. "Stern, you know what today is. We have company coming."

"Not until tonight," he argued, mouth still full of meat.

"Close your mouth when you're eating," Tali sighed before turning her gaze to Garrus. She raised an eyebrow at him. "It's your call."

Garrus regarded his wife for a moment, trying to discern what she was thinking. As usual, it was completely impossible. The quarian was hard to read; almost more so now that she didn't have to live in her environmental suit. A slight breeze drifted in through the open window, a hot gust of Rannoch air rushing in. Tali's hair whipped around her, the dark strands twining in the breeze.

"Let's go for a picnic this afternoon," Garrus suggested. "Stern and I can go shooting and you and Gwenn can have a beach day."

Tali nodded, seeming pleased with the assessment. "The sounds lovely. Gwenny, would you like that?"

The young quarian chirruped, wiggling in her seat in excitement.

* * *

Liara was met with warm hugs from both of her old friends when she arrived at their home. She had been the first to arrive, as was usual. Out of all of the former crew, Liara was the one which Tali and Garrus kept in close contact with. As such, she usually came an hour early in order to get some quality time in with the two.

Tali and Garrus' adopted children were sitting in the living room; the krogan way playing on some sort of strange hand-held gaming device that seemed too small for his fingers to properly grasp. His quarian sister was beside him, giggling in glee as she watched whatever was happening on the game.

Liara went to them, leaning over the back of the couch and murmuring, "How are my favorite niece and nephew?"

"Li Li!" Gwenn shouted, jumping up and hanging from Liara's neck. The asari chuckled, taking the girl into her arms and snuggling her closely. "You've grown a full foot since I last saw you, Stern. Have any admirers yet?"

Stern grumbled in what was supposed to sound like annoyance, but his lips were curled into a smile. "What did you bring us?" he asked, always the one to get right to the point.

"Presents?" Gwenn perked up, dark eyes full of excitement.

"Kids," Tali chided, "give Liara some room. I'm sorry, Liara."

"Don't be," Liara smiled, moving Gwenn to the side of her hip. "I love children, and yours are complete darlings." She went to the bags she had deposited by the doorway and handed one to Stern. "For the marksmen," she began, eyes twinkling.

Stern tore into his present, only to have a small-caliber rifle unearthed. His eyes widened and he hooted in glee. "Liara, you're the best!"

"No using it without your mother's permission," Liara and Garrus said simultaneously. Liara chuckled and handed a bag up to Gwenn. "And for my little explorer."

Gwenn scrambled with the wrapping paper, unearthing a box of archeology tools. "Your mom told me you like to dig for things," she began, seeing the confusion on Gwenn's face.

Gwenn's lips tugged into a wide grin. "Mommy, does this mean I can dig in the yard now?"

Tali's head sank into an upturned palm while Garrus chuckled. "Not in our yard. We'll go the beach or the cliffs," he told her.

Gwenn wiggled out of Liara's arms and scampered into her room, probably to find a place to store her new possessions. Liara turned her amused gaze to Tali and Garrus before murmuring, "I have something for you two, as well."

Liara handed the pair a heavy box. Garrus took the box, looking confused. "Liara, you didn't have to-"

Liara shook her head, cutting him off. "No, Garrus. I should have parted with this sooner."

Tali opened the box and gasped. "Oh Keelah," she murmured, voice trembling. She pulled the item out of the box, staring at the pitted N7 armor in distress. "Liara, how…"

"I've had it since the SR-1 went down," Liara admitted. "I… I've held onto this for so long, and I had not right. You and Shepard…" she broke off, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm sorry. It was selfish of me."

Tali shook her head. "No, Liara, it's… it's not. I don't even know what to say. This is such a sweet gesture, but…"

Garrus wrapped an arm around Tali's quaking shoulders just as someone knocked on the door. The door swung open and James Vega, his cheeks flushed, called out, "Alright now, you party people! Let's get this damned bonfire going!"

* * *

With the children finally in bed and the guests gone for the evening, Garrus and Tali sat beside the bonfire. The flames were now just slight flickers, dying out in the cool evening wind. The box with Shepard's armor was sitting beside them, Tali casting unsure glances at it from time to time.

"When did we move on?" she asked suddenly.

Garrus glanced over at her, feeling his mandibles flaring with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"From Shepard." Her eyes were distant, as though she was trying to find something she had lost a long time ago.

Garrus pulled Tali onto his lap. She came willingly, wrapping her slender arms around his neck and resting her head against his. "I only wonder," Tali continued softly, "because I can't stomach the thought of holding on to that piece of armor. It's not…" Tali broke off. "It isn't fair to me. And it certainly isn't fair to you."

Garrus nuzzled his face into Tali's hair, breathing in her earthy scent. "Tali… we have a life. Everything Shepard did was to save us. To give us a chance to move on. But if you want to keep the armor-"

"I still love him," she whispered, her frame shuddering as if chilled.

Garrus pulled her tighter into him, whispering, "I know. And wherever he is, Tali, he still loves you. No matter what. He wanted you to be happy."

"I am," Tali replied, letting out a little breath. "I am happy. I have two children and the best husband I could ask for," she added, stroking his cheek gently. "I have everything I have ever needed or wanted…" She looked back at the box and added, "But I don't need this ghost."

Tali slipped off of Garrus lap, picking up the box. She pressed her lips against the cardboard for a moment and closed her eyes, as if saying a goodbye. She then tossed the box into the flames, watching it catch fire.

After a few moments, Tali turned away from the dying smolders and reached for Garrus. He rose, enveloping her in his arms, brushing his mouth across her forehead gently.

"Let's go to bed," Tali murmured, looking up at him with her eyes full of something fragile, but something undeniably hopeful.

Garrus nodded, leading his wife back into their home, letting the flames die in the fire pit.

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Author's Note:

Hope everyone enjoyed! This was a bit sadder than my usual bit, but I wanted to do something different. They aren't many "after Shepard" stories that focus on the aftermath of those Shepard leaves behind. I hope I captured the sadness, yet hopefulness, I think the remaining crew feels. Leave some reviews or comments for me!

Love love,

E.


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